Automatic street-railway switch



W. T. MERRIMAN. AUTOMATIC STREET RAILWAY SWITCH.

(No Model.)

Patented Sept. 29, 1891.

. MZA

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

I'VILLEVE T. MERRIMAN, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

AUTOMATIC STREET-RAI LWAY SWITCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 460,146, dated September 29, 1 891. Application filed March 28, 1891. Serial No. 386,836. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLEVE T. MERRIMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Street-Railway Switches; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clearpand exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to streetrailway switches, and has for its object to provide a simple and eiiicient construction for operating the same automatically from the car. To this end, in addition to the switch-lever for swinging the pivoted rail I provide inclined guideways fixed in the path of the car, and in the guideways I place slides having connections with the switch-lever; and for co-operation therewith I place strikers on the car, adapted to be set in a position to strike the slides and operate the switch. The inclination of the guides is such that the slide will clear the striker on reaching the foot of the guide. Each car carries a pair of strikers one on each side-in position to strike the corresponding member of the pair of slides. The slides and their connections to the switchlever are so arranged that one will open and the other close the switch. The strikers carried by the car can only strike the slides when at the head of their guides. Hence if the switch-rail is in its proper position the switch will not be touched by the striker. It is only necessary for the car-driver to set his striker for either the main line or the branch and the car will take care of itself. If set for the main line and the switch be closed, the striker will strike the slide and open the switch. If set for the branch line and the switch be opened, the striker will strike the other slide and close the switch. The inclined guides are conveniently formed of plates having inclined slots, the plates being adapted to be secured to the fixed rails between the upper and lower flanges of the same.

The construction is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, therein like letters referring to like parts throughout. Figure 1 is a plan view of a part of the main and branch tracks of a street railway, and the switch in working position. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the car and a part of the track, some portions being broken away; and Figs. 3 and 4 are details in side elevation and cross-section,

shown at cl, to some suitable support between the rails.

D is the connecting-rod uniting the same with thefree end of the switch-rail.

E are the plates, with inclined slots, as shown at e, constituting the inclined guides, securable to the inner faces of the fixed rails A A by bolts and nuts F G between the upper and lower flanges of the rail, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4..

H are the slides mounted in said guides, and K are the connecting-rods uniting the slides with the extremities of the switch-lever D. The slides II are formed with T-shaped heads, and are placed in position in their guides from the back of the plate before the plate is secured into position. They will then be held so they cannot be displaced without removing the plate. The heads project beyond the inner face of the plates, so that, taken together with the raised end of their connecting-rods K, their projecting parts constitute a suitable striking surface for the striker carried by the car.

L represents an ordinary street-car in position on the main line approaching the switch. The front end of the car at the right-hand corner and the right-hand rail are broken away to expose the left-hand striker and the left-hand slide.

M is the guard-board or other part of the car-truck, which is supported directly on the axle of the car-truck independent of the carbody, so as to preserve a constant position with reference to the rails.

N'is the striker, represented as mounted in a socket M, fixed to the guard-board and vertically movable therein.

P is a cord attached to the head of the striker and passing through a perforation in v v the front platform and up over a sheave 19,

secured to the roof and provided on its free end with a hand-pull P, within reach of the driver. A projecting stud or holder Q may be provided, with which the hand-pull may be made to engage to hold the striker in its uppermost position. The striker may be of such weight that when released it will fall to its lowermost or striking position by gravity. The striker on the other side of the car is exactly similar.

The operation has already been described. The advantage of a device of this kind is apparent. It is especially serviceable on electric systems now going into extensive use. Without some such device the car must be stopped to set the switch, and the practice is to carry a hand-lever on the car, with which the driver reaches over the front platform, after stopping the car, to set the switch. This takes considerable time. \Vith my device the car would not need to be stopped, but would of itself take care of the switch. The construction is so simple that it is reliable and durable.

It will of course be understood that the switch-lever D and its connections D K K would in practice be protected from the street traffic by a suitable shield or cover.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is as follows:

1. The combination, with the switch-lever, of inclined guides securable to the fixed rails of the main track between the upper and lower flanges of the same slides mounted in said guides, connections from the same to said switch-lever, and strikers carried by the car for co-operation with the slides to control the switch, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with the switch-lever, of the plates having inclined slots securable to the fixed rails, the T-shaped slides mounted in the said slots, the connections from the same to the switch-lever, and the strikers on the car, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLEVE T. MERRIMAN.

Witnesses:

J AS. F. WILLIAMSON, A. H. OPSAHL. 

